Dehradun, December 6
The Uttarakhand unit of the Samajwadi Party (SP) observed a black day against the demolition of Babri Masjid here today by holding a dharna in front of the Gandhi Park.

While addressing the gathering, Vinod Barathwal, state president of the party, said the communal forces not only demolished the Babri Masjid, but broke the Indian Constitution and unity among the people of the nation. Even after 19 years of its demolishment, the guilty hadn’t been punished, he alleged.

Barathwal said in India people of different religions and different communities lived, and without accepting this diversity the unity of the nation could not be guaranteed. “In our country minorities live together, whether it is Punjab, Manipur, Meghalya or Nagaland, and our nation cannot be strengthened by neglecting the minorities,” Barathwal added.

Accusing the Congress government he alleged that the demolition of the Babri Masjid could have been averted if the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao should have acted but he remained a silent spectator.

Senior SP leader RP Singh said the Babri incident was a blot on India. The Liberhan report, besides holding the BJP guilty for the demolition of the masjid, has also condemned the role of the then Prime Minister Rao. 

Haridwar, December 6
Various functions were held in the district to mark the 54th death anniversary of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar by observing it as Samajik Samrasta Diwas.

People vowed to follow the path and ideals of Baba Saheb, as he was fondly called, and orators spoke on the contribution of the leader in bringing about a social revolution as well as in making of the Constitution.

A special function was held at the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad office where floral tributes were paid by students. Pointing on the need of leaders like Dr Rao, district convenor Devendra Pradhan said great leaders were those who not only brought social change during their life time, but also had an impact years later.

“He was not only a political leader, but an anthropologist, philosopher, orator, writer, economist, revolutionist and helped in the revival of Buddhism. He also played a pivotal role in the making of the Constitution of India which is the base of Indian democracy,” said Prajapati.

While at Shravan Nath Math Jawaharlal Nehru College, the great leader was also remembered with reverence. Students Union president Shakti Tyagi said, “Baba Saheb advocated social and religious brotherhood and we will bring in mass awareness against those who play politics on the base of caste and religion”.

While student leaders Ankur Rawat, Ashish, Varun Baliyan, Sajan Chaudhari, Harish Gadiya, Deepak Semwal and Ashish Sharma among others spoke on the occasion.

At the Bahujan Samaj Party district office in Shivalik Nagar too a special commemorative function was held where party members paid floral tributes and shed light on the role of Dr Ambedkar in pre and post-Independence and his importance in the present time when caste and religious politics was being played.

Several programmes were also held on the occasion in various parts of the district, including Bahadrabad, Jhabrdea, Mangalore, Landaura, Lakshar and Roorkee.

Dehradun, December 6
The Uttarakhand Congress today observed the 53rd death anniversary of Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.

At a function held at the state Congress headquarters, state Congress President Yashpal Arya recalled the role of Dr Ambedkar towards the upliftment of downtrodden and unprivileged sections of the society. He said Dr Ambedkar lived in the heart of crores of countrymen due to his selfless service. He also accused the Uttarakhand BJP government of harassing Dalits in the state.

Presiding over the programme, senior Congress leader Suryakant Dhasmana said the contribution of Dr Ambedkar towards empowerment of unprivileged sections held no parallels. He said Dr Ambedkar not only united the Dalits, but also inspired them to collectively struggle for their genuine rights.

While reiterating the Congress commitment for betterment of Dalits, Dhasmana said by appointing Meira Kumar as Chairperson of the Lok Sabha, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had done yeoman’s service towards the empowerment of the Dalit community.

He said the country’s Constitution prepared by Dr Ambedkar was one of most trustworthy documents in the entire world.

Uttarakhand Congress Secretary Rakesh Kumar, Lal Chand Sharma, Sumer Chand Ravi, Shravan Rajoria, Arun Valmiki, Amichand Sonkar, Qmar Siddiqui and other Congress leaders were present on the occasion.

Haridwar, December 6
With lakhs of pilgrims, tourists and VIPs flocking the city daily, the district and police administration finds it difficult to carry its normal administrative duties, especially with a number of VIP movements in the city.

Acknowledging this fact, District Magistrate (DM) of Haridwar R Meenakshi Sundaram accepted that due to VIPs movement, not only of higher officials, but also of lower-ranked administrative and police personnel, work gets affected to a large extent.

He said a major time of the administration goes in VIP duty, which doesn’t augur well for developmental activities and indirectly affects law and order and gives less time for people and normal work.

While district Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjay Gunjiyal accepted that crime control in Haridwar was not that easy considering various aspects, but police working and result-oriented performance in severe criminal cases had reaffirmed public faith in the police system and criminals were wary of the police.

With Maha Kumbh slated to start next month, both top administrative and police head urged locals and media to come forth and help in successful completion of the greatest fair in the country.

Though the government has appointed separate mela administration for Maha Kumbh, yet both officials admitted that despite this, the district and police administration is very well in coordination and communication with the mela administration and they are jointly working to see Haridwar hosts the fair successfully and peacefully.

Divulging the criminal scenario, SSP Gunjiyal said verification drive was on and approximately 40,000 verifications had been done, while 70 rewarded criminals had been arrested.

He also said 70 per cent of robbery cases had been solved; while success percentage in dacoity cases is 100 per cent and add to it 32 murder cases have been resolved with only five murders remaining unsolved.

On the role of the media both bureaucrats accepted and lauded the importance of media, but also urged to have restraint in various issues, which affects society, peace and brotherhood.

“When a crime takes place, the media gives it broad coverage and that is good as the reader wants to read these news, but when we solve the same case, it is either shortened in a few words or put up on back pages. If you create a sensation, you should also see that society or readers get a positive impact by letting them know that the case has been solved and criminals have been arrested,” remarked SSP Gunjiyal.

While DM Meenakshi Sundaram said without criticism and scrutiny by the media, administrative and even government may not perform that better.

“People have faith in your writing and so when you bring to notice some deficiency, we take cognizance of that and do inquiries and rectify it. So you also play supplement to us,” remarked Sundaram.

Both top district administrative officials shared the dais together to put foster better communication with media personnel and spoke on various issues and also invited suggestions.

Nainital, December 6
Officials of several government departments in the state have a peculiar problem on their hands.

The problem does not pertain to any administrative or financial wrangle, but revolves around the disposal of a huge quantity of government calendars and booklets brought out on the occasion of the Statehood Day on November 9.

The biggest problem pertains to the disposal of calendars which, for a change, do not have dates. The calendar only shows the photograph of a smiling Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank with an oft-repeated message saying that Uttarakhand is a heaven on earth and it is the forehead of the nation.

Below this oft-repeated message is the list of achievements of the state government.

A senior official on the condition of anonymity pointed out, “Even rickshaw pullers and labourers are refusing to take these calendars as they are of no use to anyone. Some sycophants in Dehradun probably came up with the bright idea of a dateless calendar, and now it has become a headache for officials right up to the block level.

“Nobody knows what to do with the heaps and heaps of these calendars that have been dumped at their offices by those sitting in Dehradun so that these are disposed off”.

In a conversation on this issue, a labourer in Nainital said, “The Chief Minister is no Lord Buddha that we can take his calendar home to worship. Even the achievements listed on it are of no use as our plight has not changed a bit over the past nine years”.

Another official underlined, “It is a massive misuse of public money. The exercise amounts to nothing but tom-toming their own names.

“What was the need to bring out a ‘soochna nirdarshini’ (official directory) in the middle of a calendar year? Even if there was a change in the Chief Minister, 
the telephone numbers of officials and their departments had remained the same.

“But since it was important that the directory have the photograph and a typically ‘sarkari’ message from the new Chief Minister, a new directory was printed at a huge cost.

“They know that there is no one to question them. Otherwise, they should be taken to task for wasting public money when they are not even in a position to pay the monthly salaries of government employees on the first day of the month as it happened this time”.

As of now, there are thousands of calendars and achievement booklets lying in various government offices. In some cases, even the packing of these have not been opened and officials are cribbing that no one was interested in taking them.

Senior Congress leader BS Bhakuni told The Tribune, “This government has spent lakhs on propping up its image and has done nothing on the ground.

“Previously, it was Chief Minister BC Khanduri who had gone around getting his hoardings put up at various places along with his pictorial boards on state transport buses.

“Now, it is his successor who has gone a step ahead and is not letting any moment go when he can derive some publicity. We are going to take up these issues at public forums at the appropriate time,” he said.

Dehradun, December 6
Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva and Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank gave their best wishes to serving soldiers and ex-servicemen, their dependents, relatives of the martyrs and people of the state on the occasion of Armed Forces Flag Day.

The Governor said the Flag Day provided people an opportunity to extend thanks to the brave sainiks.

Margaret Alva appealed to the people of the country to extend their love and support towards the sainiks by donating more and more money to the Flag Day fund. 

Dehradun, December 6
Dhirendra Pratap, a member of the All-India Congress Committee, has asked the Uttarakhand government to immediately declare the minimum support price (MSP) for malta fruit as Rs 1,500 per quintal which for the past several years has been Rs 525 per quintal.

In a letter written to Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Pratap demanded a bonus on the Malta procurement for safeguarding the interests of Malta growers who were in deep trouble due to serious drought situation this year in the state.

He warned the state government that if adequate support prices were not given to the Malta farmers, the Congress party would be forced to launch an agitation against the state BJP government.

He charged that last year also the state government had not given adequate prices to the malta farmers and that was the reason they had to face heavy loses.

The malta farmers sold their crop at the rate of Rs 5.25 per kg and were not even in a condition to pay for the transportation of their produce from remote villages.

He also demanded the opening of small processing industries in nearby areas of Chamolli, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Almora districts, so that the farmers’ huge loses could be prevented.He also demanded the opening of a new storage centre for keeping the the malta in a good condition.

Dehradun, December 6
The DOTS-Plus treatment for tuberculosis (TB) will be started in all districts 
from early next year, for which seven doctors 
have already undergone one-week training.

Patients will be given second-line drugs treatment free of cost by the government. The treatment has side effects requiring supportive therapy as suggested by the DOTS Plus committee. “It calls for individualised treatment and even drugs are substituted if and when the patient experiences discomfort,” said Dr AP Mamgai, TB officer.

It was only recently that the central government launched a programme to take on the challenge of MDR-TB, and DOTS Plus was the answer. After starting the treatment in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, the central government has given a go-ahead for Uttarakhand as well. The Directly Observed Treatment (DOTS) is underway in all districts of the state since 2002.

The MDR-TB is more difficult and costly to treat than the drug-susceptible tuberculosis.

As per the DOTS Plus strategy, the diagnosis of MDR-TB will be made at the Intermediate Reference Laboratories (IRLS) that is awaiting accreditation to perform culture and drug sensitivity testing (DST) and is coming up at the Health Directorate.

However, the laboratory is awaiting accreditation from the central government before it begins to functions. “The MDR testing will only be at a later stage, our laboratory has to first get accreditation from the central government. Our results of culture testing have to match with those undertaken by the central government,” said Dr Mamgai.

Dehradun, December 6
A woman, who was being allegedly harassed by her in-laws for not bringing enough dowry, allegedly committed suicide yesterday morning by setting herself on fire at her house here under Doiwala police station area.

She was shifted to the Doon Hospital after the incident where she was breathed her last during treatment. The police has arrested her husband and mother-in-law.

The incident happened at 10:30 yesterday morning when no family member of the victim was at home.

She bolted the door from inside and set herself afire by pouring kerosene on her body. She was taken to Doon Hospital in a critical situation, but she couldn’t be saved.

Prem Singh, father of victim Preeti, complained to the police alleging that his daughter had died due to the constant harassment at the hands of her in-laws who demanded more dowry. He further alleged that her husband and mother-in-law used to beat her, besides mentally torturing her and this forced Preeti to take the extreme step.

Prem Singh, a resident of Bada Bharuwala, told the police in his complaint that his daughter’s in-laws were demanding a motorcycle from them.

Dehradun, December 6
The 40th and 41st All-India Dog Show organised by the Doon Valley Kennel Club attracted a lot of attention today. A day-long show amid varied breeds and breeders from all over India remained the talk of the town.

From little ones to old couples, everyone seemed to enjoy and share some quality moments in the company of man’s best friend.

Ennakshi, a breeder, who had come all the way from Lucknow for the first time, participated to showcase obedience skills of her four labradors.

She looked excited and said that this was a great medium to get dog lovers together from various parts of the country.

With almost 40 national as well as international breeds such as the Siberian husky, St Bernard, douge de Bordeaux, pug, chow-chow, bull terrier, great Dane to Uttarakhand’s very own Bhotia participated and exhibited their skills around the hush bush and strict instructions of the judges.

The show was managed under the supervision of Dr VK Sharma, chairman of the club, Rajesh Gulati, president, and Navneet Chaudhary, secretary. Mukul Vaid from Delhi and Sue Linn Tong from Singapore were the judges.

This year, the show has been extraordinary because of the large numbers of exhibitors and excellent response from viewers.

“The dogs are judged on the basis of their walk, teeth and health,” said Rajesh Gulati.

“I adore dogs and am very happy to be here in the company of so many attractive and loving dogs,” said Shalini, a Dehradun resident.

Amid so many breeds, the centre of attraction remained the favourite chiwawa breed (pocket dog) and the newfound land breed, a massive dog, which in spite of being gigantic, has a very sweet temperament.

Many persons in the audience were seen capturing these dogs in their cameras.

Apart from getting the skills of their dogs showcased inside the arena with poise and confidence, the masters who travelled all the way from destinations like Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other states were passionately not only boasting about their pooches, but were also selling dogs and guiding people about the pedigree, temperament and quality.

“I have come from Chandigarh to sell my dogs. I have got chow-chow, a Chinese breed. These are worth Rs 30,000 to 40,000 as they are a rare breed,” said Sanjeev, a breeder.

“Along with the pickinies breed, I have the American cocker spaniel, pugs and St Bernard. These are champions dogs and are all prepared to thrill crowd with their charisma,” said Kishore Kumar, a breeder from Delhi.

Every year, with an aim to spread awareness about the variety of breeds and their grooming, dog shows in various states begin after the rainy season and end mid-June after which the Show Dog of the Year is decided.

Under the guidelines of the Kennel Club of India (KCI), dogs, which are registered, participate and are given the title of Challenge Certificate (CC) and Best of Breed (BOB) with mementos and certificates.

“The dog show in Doon gets a good response as people here are very fond of dogs. The dogs, which had earlier won competitions, stand a better chance of winning again,” added Rajesh Gulati, president of the club.

Along with oodles of fun and easy availability of puppies under one roof, there were various stalls which displayed dog food, leaches, collars, therapeutic items to their coats and beadings.

Furthermore, a vet counter to check the bloodline and quality was available so that under the supervision of expert doctors, amateur buyers get a good dog for their money.

The results of the show were declared later in the evening.